Nursery chair



ly21,1942. A. HUFFMAN Em 2 290 329 NURSERY CHA IR Filed March 8, 1941 MM me A HUFFMANANO 5EE/VAEO (/A/NE INVENTORS.

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Patented July 21, 1942 NURSERY CHAIR Walter. A. Huffman, Indianapolis, and Bernard Uline, Nappane'e, Ind.; said Huffman assignor to Nappanee Lumber and Manufacturing Company, Nappanee, Ind., a corporation of Indiana Application March 8, 1941, Serial No. 382,329

2 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in a nursery chair, and more particularly to a training chair of the type commonly known as a toilet seat. Previously, chairs of this type, particularly those provided with trays, have had various disadvantages. Primary among these disadvantages was the fact that the tray prevented the training of a child to use the chair on his own initiative, since the tray prevented him from walking to the chair and sitting thereon. The previous tray constructions have been such that the tray was so secured or mounted upon the chair as to be positioned transversely thereof at all times. Trays of an adjustable construction have been used, but these have been adjustable only in a forward direction or by pivotal movement, and have remained transversely between the side members of the chair in all adjusted positions. As a result, it has not been possible to use the previous types of chairs for the purpose of training a child to seat himself on the chair of his own initiative, but rather it has been necessary to lift a child into the chair because of the position and existence of the tray.

Therefore, it is the primary object of this invention to provide a nursery chair having a tray which is so mounted as to be removed or bodily shifted to an out-of-the-way position relative to the chair to permit a child to walk thereto and seat himself thereon.

A further object is to provide a chair of this character which is inexpensive, which may be readily assembled and disassembled, and hence shipped in knocked-down condition.

A further object is to provide a chair of this character with side members shaped to simulate a bird or animal having a body portion and an elevated head portion, wherein a seat and back are secured to the body portions of the side members and wherein guide means are carried by the head portions of the side members for releasably mounting a tray and accommodating bodily separation of the tray from at least one side member to permit a child to walk between the head portions and assume a seated position on the chair.

A further object is to provide a chair of this character with side members, a seat and a back supported by and interconnecting said side members, and means adapted to' removably position and support the opposite ends of a tray, wherein said seat and back constitute the sole means interconnecting the side members.

A further object is to provide a chair of this character with a tray removably mounted on brackets having retainers at one end overlying the upper face of the tray at one edge, and a strap detachably securing the opposite edge of the tray with the chair seat and cooperating with the retainers to lock the tray on the bracket.

Other objects will be apparent from the description, drawing, and appended claims.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a view of the chair in side elevation.

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the chair.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged longitudinal vertical section of the chair taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail View of the tray and a supporting bracket therefor, illustrating the tray in cross section, and also illustrating in dotted lines an intermediate position of the tray during the operation of mounting the same upon the brackets.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of one of the tray supporting brackets.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary perspective view illustrating a modified embodiment of the invention wherein the tray is pivoted to'a side member.

Referring to the drawing, which illustrates the preferred embodiment of the invention, the numeral I6 designates the side members or panels of the chair. Members Iil are suitably shaped and decorated to simulate a bird or an animal. As here shown, the side members are shaped and decorated to provide a body portion II, an upwardly extending neck portion I2, a head portion I 3, and a beak portion l4 shaped and decorated to simulate a duck, and a portion I5 shaped and decorated to simulate a background; thus providing intermediate portion I I and upwardly extending portions I2-I3, and I5 at opposite ends of member III.

A suitable seat member l6 and back member ii are secured in desired relation between the side members [0, as by means of screws I8 passing through said side members .and into the edges of the parts I6 and II. It will be understood that the sides may be so shaped and proportioned that when the seat I6 is at proper level, the upper edges of the body portions I I of the side member will form arm rests. The back member I1 is secured between the portions I5 of the side members.

Each of the side members I5 is provided with a bracket I9 secured at its inner face preferably at the head portion I3 and beak portion I4 thereof. As best illustrated in Fig. 5, this bracket I9 is of elongated shape having a rear upwardly extending portion 20, a front upwardly extending portion 2|, and a short rearwardly extending portion 22 projecting from the upper end of portion 2!,

Brackets I9 may be formed from wood or other suitable material, and are secured to the side members by screws or the like.

A tray 23 of a length to fit snugly but slidably between the opposite side members and of a width less than the spacing between portions and 21 of brackets 19 is adapted to be supported at its ends by brackets 19. In this connection, it will be obvious that the tray is mounted on the chair or applied to the brackets by first holding the same in an inclined position to insert one side edge thereof under the retainer members 22 of the brackets as illustrated in dotted lines in Fig. 4, and then is lowered upon the bracket 19 between the bracket portions 2| and 20. A leather strap 24 is secured at its ends to tray 23 and seat I6, at least one of said strap ends being provided with detachable securing means, here illustrated as a snap fastener 25 at its lower end. It will be obvious that the front edge of the tray is held against tilting movement by the retainer portions 22 of the brackets, and that the rear edge of the tray is held in place upon the brackets by the strap 24, and in this way the tray is mounted and secured in its operative relation. The device may be shipped in knocked down form with all of the parts disconnected, except that the brackets I9 may be permanently secured to the side members without materially increasing the space required for shipment of the parts. When the parts arrive at their destination, they can be assembled easily and quickly by applying the screws Hi to secure together the side members It), seat l6 and back II. Thereupon, the tray 23 may be applied in operative position supported upon the brackets l 9. Then the chair is ready for use.

The chair may be used in the conventional manner, that is, by placing a child thereon as is done with all present chairs. However, the chair has the additional advantage that the tray 23 may be removed at will if desired. The chair may be used for training purposes when the tray is removed, and a child can be taught to Walk to and seat himself upon the chair.

The use of the configured side members I 0 provided with the upwardly projecting portions I2l3 and I5 has the advantage of permitting the side members to be formed of one piece and to be properly decorated to render the same attractive, while at the same time forming supports for the elements of the chair, such as the seat I6, the back I1, and tray 23. Simplicity of construction, and attractiveness of appearance, are thus obtained. At the same time, these features do not interfere with the necessary functional purposes of the chair, nor with the use of the upper edges of the body portion II of the side members as arm rests, nor with the proper location of the seat, back, and tray.

While the tray supporting construction illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5 is preferred, it is not essential to the construction. Thus, as illustrated in Fig. 6, the head portion l3 and beak portion 14 of one of the side members I2 may have a hinge 26 connected thereto and to one edge or end of the tray 23. The pintle of the hinge 26 is horizontally positioned so that the tray may be swung upwardly into substantial parallelism with said side member, as illustrated in dotted lines in Fig. 6. This construction requires that some means, for example, a bar or a member similar to the bracket l9 but having the portion 22 eliminated therefrom, be secured to the side member opposite that mounting the hinge for supporting the free end of the tray 23. The strap 24 may be secured between the tray 23 and the seat I6 as in the preferred form, and when so arranged the strap constitutes means for preventing movement of the tray in the same manner that the strap prevents such manner in the preferred embodiment of the invention.

We claim:

1. A nursery chair comprising a pair of side panels, a seat member interconnecting said panels, a bracket carried by each panel above and forwardly of said seat, said bracket being of substantially U-shape and having a horizontal portion extending inwardly from the upper end of one arm thereof and terminating in spaced relation to the other arm, and a tray removably supported at its ends upon said brackets.

2. A nursery chair as defined in claim 1, and a strap detachably connecting said seat and the edge of said tray located opposite said horizontal bracket portion.

WALTER A. HUFFMAN. BERNARD ULINE. 

